CHICAGO (April 11, 2018) – Loyola University Chicago guards Clayton Custer (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest/Iowa State) and Ben Richardson (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest) have been named to the Division I-AAA Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete Team it was announced today. They were two of 10 players selected to the team and this award comes on the heels of them earning Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team recognition earlier this season. Loyola was the only school with multiple honorees on the DI-AAA Scholar-Athlete Team.
 
Basketball players from all Division I-AAA ADA member institutions are eligible for this prestigious award. Each of the nominees was required to maintain a minimum grade-point average of 3.20 on a 4.00 scale in undergraduate study and have been a starter or important reserve with legitimate athletics credentials. Nominated student-athlete must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's game. To be eligible for nomination to the Scholar-Athlete Team, he must have reached junior academic standing at his institution.
 
Custer and Richardson helped Loyola men's basketball to a record-setting season in 2017-18, including a program-record 32 wins and the school's first appearance in the NCAA Final Four since winning the NCAA championship in 1963. 
 
Richardson was named MVC Defensive Player of the Year this season and also was hailed as the NCAA South Regional's Most Outstanding Player after putting up a career-high 23 points in the Ramblers' Elite 8 victory over Kansas State. The senior finished the 2017-18 campaign with season averages of 7.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting 40.4 percent (38-for-94) from three-point range.
 
Custer was selected as the MVC Player of the Year, averaging 13.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals per outing, connecting on 52.7 percent (155-for-294) of his field goal attempts and 45.4 percent (59-for-130) of his three-point tries. The redshirt junior was named to the NCAA South Regional All-Tournament Team and also was selected to the MVC Most Improved Team. Off the court, he was lauded as a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District pick.
 
The full DI-AAA Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete Team follows.
 
Evan Bailey, Charleston, 3.74, Chemistry
Clayton Custer, Loyola, 3.52, Finance
Rokas Gustys, Hofstra, 3.67, Rhetorical Studies
Albert Owens, Oral Roberts, 3.76, History
Josh Perkins, Gonzaga, 3.26, Sport Management
Ben Richardson, Loyola, 3.41, Finance
Joseph Sherburne, UMBC, 4.00, Financial Economics
Kareem South, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 3.53, Biomedical Science
Kevin Vannatta, UNC Asheville, 3.93, Accounting
Reilly Walsh, NJIT, 4.00, Management Information Systems